Bonucci: 'Enjoyable Azzurri'

Leonardo Bonucci confessed he has “never enjoyed my time with Italy this much” afterbeating Armenia 9-1, but it won’t count until Euro 2020.

The Azzurri almost equalled their biggest ever victory, having crushed USA 9-0 in an Olympics match in 1948, to maintain their 100 per cent record in Group J.

“Records are fairly meaningless without silverware. If we want to make it count, we have to do it next summer,” Bonucci told Rai Sport.

“To be perfectly honest, I have never enjoyed my time with Italy this much. We might run a few risks, but we play good football, pass it around and keep possession. It’s a new era for the Nazionale and we are relishing it.

“Now we’ll wait for November 30 and see what the draw holds. Whoever we face in such a short tournament at the end of the season, we’ll need to be in our best physical and psychological condition.”

Considering their performances and results, are Italy among the candidates to win Euro 2020?

“We are certainly growing, but need another step to reach the top four European nations who have been dominating for years. We have approached every game with the right determination and the credit goes to the coach and a fantastic group.

“We saw today that the many players changed, but the team identity and mentality never wavered.”

Bonucci, Jorginho and Sandro Tonali were the only players who remained in the starting XI from Friday’s 3-0 win in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

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